Boulder County late Monday revealed the first hint of the extent of property damage wrought by last week's historic 100-year flood, announcing that, so far, officials have confirmed 119 homes were destroyed by rampaging floodwaters and mudslides, while another 111 were damaged -- numbers that surely will rise in the coming days and weeks.

Additionally, one commercial building was confirmed destroyed and 28 more damaged.

That news followed Monday's successful resumption of the Boulder airlift, with helicopters from the Colorado National Guard -- aided by the end to nearly a week's worth of rain -- ferrying trapped residents out of the foothills back to Boulder Municipal Airport.

By 9:45 p.m., the Boulder Office of Emergency Management reported that 215 people were evacuated by air Monday, with another 11 rescued by ground. That comes after more than 1,200 were flown and driven out of the Boulder County foothills Saturday during a one-day interruption in the rain.

"Today was a really good day," said Gabrielle Boerkircher, a spokeswoman for Boulder County. "They were able to do a lot of things in the air and on the ground. Tuesday, we'll just go out and do as much as we possibly can in a day."

The number of people still unaccounted for fell to 183 on Monday, with officials saying 567 people who once were unaccounted for have been contacted.

Evacuees hurry across the tarmac after being rescued by helicopter from the Pinewood Springs area on Monday, Sept. 16, at the Boulder Municipal Airport in Boulder. (JEREMY PAPASSO)

"That's been going down significantly every time we bring back a group of evacuees, which is great," Boerkircher said of the figure. "It sounds like the calls are slowing down, too, so it sounds like less people are being reported unaccounted for."

Among those rescued Monday: 120 pets, mostly dogs. Two of those evacuees, though, were spider monkeys. Boerkircher said she had no further information about the spider monkeys, which are not legal in Colorado, and did not know whether they were confiscated upon arrival at the airport.

Officials said more than 1,100 people were deployed by air and on foot in Monday's search-and-rescue mission. Military helicopters began taking off from Boulder Municipal Airport as soon as the fog and the rain cleared about 9 a.m.

However, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for the city of Boulder and the Fourmile Fire burn area from noon to 7 p.m. Monday.

New storms, though, never developed, and the helicopters flew all day.

Three people have been confirmed dead in Boulder County from last week's torrential floods -- one in Jamestown and two in the Linden Drive area of Boulder County. Statewide, the death toll rose to eight on Monday.

'We knew we couldn't stay'

Those rescued from the foothills during Monday's aerial and ground operations were brought to emergency shelters at the YMCA in Boulder and the Coors Events Center on the University of Colorado campus.

At the YMCA on Monday afternoon, the refrain was the same from evacuees: No power. No phones. No roads.

Asked about the conditions in the homes they left behind, they all listed the things they had gone without. Though many of their homes were undamaged, their town was too isolated for them to stay.

The small group gathered around the playground on Mapleton Avenue had come by helicopter from Pinewood Springs, a small town between Lyons and Estes Park. A line of firefighters stood at the curb on Mapleton, ready to help unload the school buses full of evacuees coming from Boulder Municipal Airport.

"The barter system was already in effect," Chris Chieffo said. "People didn't have water. Food was running out for some people. No communication from the outside world. We just knew we couldn't stay any longer."

Chieffo had his dogs Peko and Cosmo with him, and he wasn't the only one with pets in tow. Most of the evacuees had at least one dog, if not more, and some also had cats. One woman had her bird in a blanket-covered cage. Another was offering to pick up supplies for everyone at PetCo.

Gary and Jennie Dorsch had their dog and 13-year-old cat in carriers, and a camera full of photos documenting the last few days. The couple had been collecting rain water in gallon buckets and large trash cans.

"There's water running everywhere. I don't know how to explain it," Jennie Dorsch said. "We collected enough water for two weeks to cook and drink."

The Dorsches pointed out that there was no place in town to get groceries. They had enough supplies to get by for two weeks, but knew they should get out when the evacuation started.

"We didn't feel like we were prepared for months of isolation," she said.

'Community supported itself'

In the days before the evacuation, the town met twice a day in the firehouse to get information. People had community dinners and focused on eating the food that would soon go bad, like frozen meat. The Colorado Cherry Company, located in the heart of town on North St. Vrain Drive, held potluck dinners. Some people who were able to get out earlier left behind food for their neighbors.

"The community really supported itself," Chieffo said. "I can't say enough about the community of Pinewood."

The evacuation itself was a challenge.

Katherine Baker, a small young woman loaded down with bags and with several pets in carriers, said she hiked 45 minutes from her house to reach the helicopter out of town.

"The house was OK, but our bridge was out -- it was gone," she said.

There was also the problem of what to pack when carrying capacity is limited and a return date is uncertain.

"It's so surreal," Tory Fogerty said. "We had days to plan and you can only take two bags. We don't know how long it will be. It could be Christmas. It could be spring. It's the not knowing that's... you know."

Despite the hardship, the Pinewood Springs evacuees were in relatively good spirits. They told stories of people cracking jokes at the town meetings, and kids and adults alike were enthusiastic about riding in the massive Chinook helicopters.

"At our age, we've been through a few things," Jennie Dorsch said as her husband looked through their pictures of flooded yards and damaged roads. "It's just one of those things mother nature decides to do."

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